John Ogilby was born in Scotland in 1600, died in London in 1676, and was, at various points in between, a dancing master, a theatrical impresario, a translator of Virgil and Homer, and a widely read geographer. He employed all his talents in April 1661, when King Charles II formally … Continue reading
Category Archives: Lectures
Recent Lectures: Sept. 5–Nov. 1, 2017
Home to gorgeous gardens, spectacular art, and stunning rare books and manuscripts, The Huntington also offers an impressive slate of lectures and conferences on topics and themes related to its collections. Below are audio recordings of five recent lectures and conversations. The Originality of Milton’s Paradise Lost (Nov. 1, 2017) … Continue reading
Celebrating Milton’s “Paradise Lost”
The Ridge Lecture in Literature, which I’ll deliver at The Huntington’s Rothenberg Hall on November 1, 2017, is an opportunity to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the first publication of John Milton’s Paradise Lost in 1667. It also gives me the opportunity to assess the daring originality of the greatest … Continue reading
Recent Lectures: April 17–July 27, 2017
Home to gorgeous gardens, spectacular art, and stunning rare books and manuscripts, The Huntington also offers an impressive slate of lectures and conferences on topics and themes related to its collections. Below are audio recordings of seven recent lectures or conversations. Joy Ride (July 27, 2017) Architect David Martin discusses … Continue reading
Recent Lectures: Feb. 23–April 12, 2017
Home to gorgeous gardens, spectacular art, and stunning rare books and manuscripts, The Huntington also offers an impressive slate of lectures and conferences on topics and themes related to its collections. Below are audio recordings of 10 recent lectures. Potosí, Silver, and the Coming of the Modern World (April 12, … Continue reading
Recent Lectures: Jan. 9–Feb. 8, 2017
Home to gorgeous gardens, spectacular art, and stunning rare books and manuscripts, The Huntington also offers an impressive slate of lectures and conferences on topics and themes related to its collections. Below are audio recordings of six recent lectures. “The Theater of Many Deeds of Blood”: The Geography of Violence … Continue reading
Recent Lectures: Sept. 14–Oct. 5, 2016
Home to gorgeous gardens, spectacular art, and stunning rare books and manuscripts, The Huntington also offers an impressive slate of lectures and conferences on topics and themes related to its collections. Below are audio recordings of six recent lectures. The United States from the Inside Out and Southside North (Oct. … Continue reading
Society and Solitude in Concord
In the middle of the 19th century, the small town of Concord, Mass., had an outsized reputation as New England’s intellectual center. This was in large part thanks to the fame of four writers who called the place home: Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David … Continue reading
China Rose
It’s easy to imagine that heritage roses—with names such as ‘Archduke Charles’, ‘William R. Smith’, and ‘Maman Cochet’—originated in England or France. But every repeat-blooming rose today traces its history back to the China rose, Rosa chinensis, says Tom Carruth, The Huntington’s E. L. and Ruth B. Shannon Curator of the Rose … Continue reading
What Good is History?
How important is historical literacy in today’s world, where popular culture focuses on the here and now and the milestone events in our nation’s past often get short shrift? Two Pulitzer Prize-winning historians recently weighed in on that question, during a scholarly forum at The Huntington titled “On the Importance of Historical Literacy: … Continue reading